On Monday, July 11, the Department of Labor and Industries hosted a stakeholder meeting with Federal OSHA and stakeholders within Washington to discuss OSHA’s concerns over the efficacy of Washington State’s fall-protection rules.
Of particular interest to OSHA are the following areas:
• The difference in action limit for protection 10 feet in Washington and six feet federally.
• The definition and enforcement of provisions for Walking Working surfaces in Washington
• Lack of warning lines prescribed during use of the Safety Watch system
• Strength requirements for catch platforms.
• Tensile strength of warning lines
• Ambiguity in hazard statements in relation to wall openings and skylights as fall hazards
To get more involved in this effort contact Mandi Kime, or sign up for the rulemaking listserve here.
Appeals stakeholder group being formed
After reports from multiple industry stakeholders regarding frustrations experienced in the reassumptions process (first informal level of citation appeal) with the Department of Labor and Industries, a group of multiple stakeholders from business and labor has begun meeting to share this important input back to the Department and improve the process.
Don’t miss your Safe-Summer barbecue
August’s Seattle District Safety Forum has been canceled. We will resume our normal monthly schedule in September. In the meantime, please consider joining us for our Safe-Summer Barbecues in our Nothern, Central and Southern districts:
• Bellingham – August 17th
• Yakima – August 24th
• Fife – July 25th
Please visit our Events page for more info on these barbecues and how to register.
Workzone safety
Here’s a good article from AGC of America about the challenges of protecting workers in work zones.